Management of Distance Learning Programmes for Effective Achievement of Objectives in the 21st Century: Nigeria as a Case Study

It is obvious that no country, anywhere, will be able to respond adequately to the demands for increased educational opportunity, or improve its quality of education by relying on conventional systems only. It is equally obvious that the application of distance education will help in accelerating human resource development by widening access to education in Nigeria. Many tertiary institutions in the country have embarked on distance education programmes, not because of the economic gains alone; but also in response to the increasing demand for further education by those new knowledge and skills in their areas of interest. This paper focused on ways to improve distance education administration, with particular reference to course development and production, students' supportive services and educators roles. In addition, the concept of distance education and its place in the National Policy on Education were discussed. Key words: Distance Education, Management, Achievement of objectives and Effectivenes

Administrators’ Perspectives on Strategies for Enhancing the Quality of Higher Education in Nigeria

The quality of education being provided in Nigeria is a source of concern to many stakeholders. This is particularly true of the higher education sub-sector of the country’s education system. Thus, there is need for suggestions on ways through which these concerns may be addressed. This paper attempts to respond to this need by giving administrators’ perspectives on strategies for enhancing the quality of education in the country. Starting with elucidation of the concept of quality in education, the paper propounds a tripartite model of quality in education. Using the model as an analytical point of departure, it discusses the gaps in quality assurance in Nigerian education and makes recommendations for improvement.Keywords: Quality assurance; Education administration; Nigeri

Women's role in reproductive health decision making and vulnerability to STD and HIV/AIDS in Ekiti, Nigeria

An exploratory study of women’s role in reproductive decision making in Ekiti shows that women in the state are increasingly taking active decisions on matters affecting their daily lives. More women than ever before believed that they could take decisions on family size, when to have a baby and choice of spacing period. The cultural barrier against short postpartum abstinence appeared to have diminished and sex during lactation was not considered a major cultural and religious taboo. Knowledge of contraception has become universal in recent years, and the majority of women take decisions on the method and timing of family planning. All women who used family planning considered their decision in this regard very important. The ability of women to take decisions on these issues may not only enhance their bargaining power but also reduce their vulnerability to STDs including AIDS from diseased or high-risk partners

Health-seeking behaviour of STD patients in an urban area of Southwest Nigeria: an exploratory study

Sexually transmitted disease patients of health institutions in Ado-Ekiti responded to questionnaires on the quality of STDs treatment; four-fifths of the institutions are privately owned. Gonorrhoea and syphilis are the major STDs reported by the respondents and treated by the health-care providers. Other types are candida, dysuria, lymphogranuloma venereum, chancroid, trichomoniasis and STD-related problems. The symptoms noticed by the respondents are pain, burning sensation, discharges, itching and open sores. Most sought treatment within seven days of noticing the symptoms. Most sought treatment from other health providers before coming to the health institutions where they were interviewed. Respondents were attended by modern doctors during their search for a cure, but in most cases, only by physical examination because laboratory facilities were non-existent or inadequate. Treatment was mainly chemotherapy, involving antibiotics and analgesics. In addition to chemotherapy, the health providers counselled the patients. Most respondents reported that they were satisfied with the quality of treatment. Results are discussed and recommendations are made

Organisational Transparency and Teachers’ Job Performance in Ogun State Public Secondary Schools

This study investigated Organisational transparency as determinant of teachers’ job performance in public secondary schools in Ogun State Nigeria. The study also sought to determine how organizational transparency affects the job performance of male and female teachers in the state. A total of 1037 teachers selected through multistage sampling procedure throughout 20 educational zones in Ogun state participated in the study. Data were collected with three instruments which were adapted, pilot tested and found to be reliable and valid. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyse the data collected. The results showed that Organisational transparency determined teachers’ job performance to a large extent. The variable was significant (P<0.05). Organisational transparency significantly determined teachers’ job performance. The variable also significantly determined male and female teachers’ job performance in Ogun state public secondary schools. The study therefore recommended that the principal should improve his openness, be honest, be beneficial to his/her workforce to gain their acceptance and trust in his/her school. Also principal should engage in activities that can enhance Teachers’ trust in principal. Organisational transparency as demonstrated by principals’ dealings is a vital factor in achievement of organisational goals. Keywords: Organisational transparency, Male teachers, female teachers, teaches’ job performance, secondary school

OPEN ACCESS RESOURCES USAGE AND COPYRIGHT VIOLATION AMONGST UNDERGRADUATES IN TWO UNIVERSITIES IN IBADAN, OYO STATE

Open access is a burning issue in web-based education and research that makes provision for resources that is digital, online, free of charge and free of most licensing restrictions. However, the free accessibility provided to these resources has led to the speculations that undergraduates might tend to violate the copyright protection of these resources. Hence, the study aimed to examine the relationship between the use of open access resources and copyright violation amongst undergraduates in two universities in Ibadan, Oyo state. The study adopted the descriptive survey design with a study population from two universities in Ibadan, Oyo state (Lead city and University of Ibadan) which gave the total population of 1,636 students, the simple random sampling technique, and a sampling fraction of 15% were then used to select a sample size of 282. The questionnaire was the research instrument used for data collection and data was analysed using frequency distribution and percentages together with correlation analysis run on SPSS. Findings revealed that the purposes of use of open access resources by undergraduates in Lead City University and the University of Ibadan were general research (98.1%) and (97.7%) respectively, and open access journals (79.8%), textbooks and books (80.4%) were also mostly utilised by undergraduates in Lead city and University of Ibadan. The findings also revealed that Copy and paste (92.3%), incorrect citing (86.8%) are the main forms of copyright violation known to undergraduates in Lead city and the University of Ibadan also incorrect citing (92.2%) and copy and paste (93.5%) were mostly the forms of copyright violation engaged in by undergraduates in Lead city and the University of Ibadan. Respondents from the two universities also stated that laziness on the part of the student (98.1%) and confusion between plagiarism and paraphrasing (95.7%) were the major factors that promote copyright violation. The study also revealed a positive significant relationship between use of open access resources and Copyright violation by undergraduates (r = .133*, N = 265, P \u3c .05). In conclusion, undergraduates will continue to make use of open access resources because of their freely accessible nature, and this would result in the violation of the copyright laws of those resources. Therefore, the study recommends that university management should invest in copyright violation detection software tools (such as ‘Turnitin’) to reduce the rate of copyright violation of open access resources by undergraduates and that stronger legislation and law enforcement by the Nigerian government and various university stakeholders to reward creativity and originality of scholars should be implemented

A Study of Small and Medium - Scale Enterprises (SMES) Owners’ Resources Mobilisation and Innovative Culture in South-West, Nigeria

This study examined resource mobilisation and innovative culture of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) owners in South-West, Nigeria. Five research questions were raised. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The sample comprised one thousand, four hundred and seventeen (1417) SME owners / managers out of which one thousand, three hundred and eighty-two (1382) responded appropriately, this showed 97% response rate. Data were collected using two instruments; these are Resource Mobilisation Questionnaire (r = 0.85) and Innovative Culture Scale (r = 0.68). Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Independent t test.The results showed that SME owners possessed high level of resource mobilisation and innovative culturein South-West, Nigeria. Significant relationship existed between resource mobilisation and innovative culture of SME Owners’ in South-West, Nigeria. Furthermore, there was significant difference in the score on resource mobilisation of SME Owners while no significant difference existed in the score on innovative culture of SME Owners in South-West, Nigeria. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that Government agencies should create strategies to improve resource mobilisation. This, in turn, will upgrade and enhance innovation among SMEs

PERCEPTION OF COMMUTERS ON THE QUALITY OF SERVICE RENDERED BY LAGBUS IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

This paper examines the perception of commuters on the quality of services rendered by LAGBUS. Lagos state has continously witnessed unprecedented population growth as well as traffic congestion. This growth has resulted to pressure on existing transport infrastructure which necessitated the introduction of LAGBUS by the state government to improve transport service. The study made use of primary and secondary sources of data. The primary data was obtained through the distribution of one hundred and twenty (120) copies of questionnaire to respondents through random sampling technique to LAGBUS users but only 106 copies were returned. Descriptive statistics including tables cross tabulation and charts were used to analyze the data. The findings showed that 92.5% of the respondents have been using LAGBUS for more than a year due to cheaper cost and stable price of travel as compared to other forms of public transport providers in the state. 37.7% and 39.6% of the respondents were of the view that they patronize LAGBUS due to its comfortability (comfort seats) and restriction of preaching and trading respectively. The rating of the services of LAGBUS showed that 88% and 58.5% of the respondents were of the view that their services were satisfactory and regular respectively. Long waiting time is the most challenging problem faced as revealed by 58.5% of the respondents. The study recommends that more buses should be designated to strategic or populated bus stops to reduce passengers’ long waiting time as well as the provision of more road infrastructure such as parking space, alternative routes and road expansion

Epidemiological profile of the Ebola virus disease outbreak in Nigeria, July-September 2014

Introduction: In July 2014, Nigeria experienced an outbreak of Ebola virus disease following the introduction of the disease by an ill Liberian Traveler. The Government of Nigeria with the support of Technical and Development Partners responded quickly and effectively to contain the outbreak. The epidemiological profile of the outbreak that majorly affected two States in the country in terms of person, place and time characteristics of the cases identified is hereby described. Methods: Using field  investigation technique, all confirmed and probable cases were identified, line-listed and analysed using Microsoft Excel 2007 by persons, time and place. Results: A total of 20 confirmed and probable cases; 16 in Lagos (including the index case from Liberia) and 4 in Port Harcourt were  identified. The mean age was 39.5 ± 12.4 years with over 40% within the age group 30-39 years. The most frequent exposure type was direct physical contact in 70% of all cases and 73% among health care workers. The total case-fatality was 40%; higher among healthcare workers (46%) compared with non-healthcare workers (22%). The epidemic curve initially shows a typical common source outbreak, followed by a propagated pattern. Conclusion: Investigation revealed the size and spread of the outbreak and provided information on the characteristics of persons, time and place. Enhanced surveillance measures, including contact tracing and follow-up proved very useful in early case detection and containment of the outbreak